Burr Ridge Taps Hearing Officer After Informal Process

BURR RIDGE, IL – The Burr Ridge Village Board last week appointed a new hearing officer to preside over cases involving minor ordinance violations.

Robyn Molaro King is replacing Denise Filan, a former Cook County circuit judge who was selected in 2020 as the village's first hearing officer.

The selection process was informal.

"Judge Filan’s annual contract was ending," Mayor Gary Grasso said in an email. "Prior to that, the Village decided to interview others, and from that process I recommended that the Village should contract with Ms. King – whom I do not know personally or professionally. The Board approved my recommendation of Ms. King. She came highly recommended – with Judge Filan herself commending the Board for selecting Ms. King."

King does the same thing for other towns.

Five years ago, then-Trustee Zach Mottl objected to hiring Filan, saying she gave the village the idea to start the court. He called that a conflict of interest.

But an official at the time said the police chief's long-term goal was to create a court.

This was the second time the village bypassed a formal procedure, such as a "request for proposals," to find a hearing officer.

State law doesn't require such a process. Yet some towns do it anyway for hearing officers. Among them are La Grange, La Grange Park, Willowbrook, Woodridge, Northbrook, River Forest, Round Lake and Cary.

Longtime mayoral critic Patricia Davis lamented the process.

"This is yet another example of 'it’s who you know,' as opposed to putting this contract position out for proper bid, like most Burr Ridge contracts," Davis said. "How transparent will Gary Grasso be if he’s elected DuPage County Board Chair next year? He seems to not be in favor of transparency."

The Burr Ridge court was designed to address issues such as vehicle tows, impound fees, parking tickets, building and zoning, disorderly conduct, retail theft, offenses involving alcohol and minors, solicitors and the animal code.